The Jedi and the Bounty Hunter
by 21stCenturyDragonRider
Summary: Jay is one of the best bounty hunters around. One day, he gets tasked to find a Jedi the First Order has been searching for. But not only has to find her, he has to kill her. But after spending time with the Jedi, he doesn't want to kill her anymore.
1. Chapter 1: The Bounty Hunter

**An idea popped into my head quickly after the Carvie Star Wars thing and this is it.**

Maz Kanata's castle on Takadona hosted many travelers and smugglers. One of them was a bounty hunter, Jay. One of the best. He loved money and would _always_ finish the job for it. Whether that meant killing someone, he'd do it.

One day while sitting at a table in Maz Kanata's castle, a young man with glasses came and walked up to Jay's table, sitting down in front of the bounty hunter. Jay sat there, his feet on the table and his hands playing around with his blaster. He looked up, noticing the scrawny person.

"A-are you Jay?" he asked.

"Who wants to know?" Jay asked.

"My name is Doug. I'm with the uh...," Doug then slid a piece of paper that had the First Order symbol on it.

Jay stopped fiddling with his blaster as he stared at the sheet of paper. A quick feeling of worry shot through him, but then he kept calm knowing he could just take out the scrawny First Order soldier.

"So what do you want?" Jay asked.

"I hear you're the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. I've been sent to give you a job to do," Doug paused to look around, making sure no one was listening in on their conversation. "There's a Jedi we've been trying to chase down, but she always slips from our grasp. You must find her and kill her."

"Jedi don't exist," Jay said.

"And the First Order wants to keep it that way. That's why you need to find her," Doug replied.

"Look kid, I'm not going to chase down an imaginary Jedi just so you can get promoted or something. Now get lost," Jay retorted, fiddling with his blaster again.

"Maybe this will change your mind," Doug said, pulling out a briefcase full of credits.

Jay's eyes darted towards the table. He moved his legs off the table and stared at the huge amount of money in front of him. He slowly reached for it, but the briefcase shut closed and was pulled back under the table.

"Where was this Jedi seen last?" Jay asked.

* * *

Jay began flying around in space, traveling to the planet the Jedi was seen last. All the First Order soldier, Doug told him about the Jedi was that she had purple hair.

 **Yup. I made Doug a part of the First Order. But it's not that bad.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Jedi

**Here you go. I know it's been a long wait, but I had to finish up my other story first.**

After a long time of searching, Jay finally pinpointed the supposed location of the Jedi. He landed his ship on the small planet known as Losis. It was a jungle-like planet. Trees filled most of the land. He stepped out of his small ship, looking around. So far, he's searched about twenty other planets before this. Most barely had any inhabitants he could talk to for information.

Walking around with his blaster strapped to his belt, he scanned the area, hoping to find some clue that the Jedi with purple hair was here. The atmosphere of the strange planet was mysterious. Fog lay over the tall trees, shielding it and anything below it from pure sunlight.

Jay soon came to a narrow pathway made of huge rocks. He placed his hand on one of the walls, moss forming along it. It wasn't long after when he heard the trickle of water. His brows furrowed as he slowly made his way to the other end of the path. There, he saw a figure draped in a brown cloak, sitting in front of a small pond with the smallest of waterfalls flowing down into the pond. The area was closed off by more huge rocks that was much taller than Jay.

He wondered if this figure was the Jedi. He stood there, watching. Until a small breeze blew by, causing strands of the cloaked stranger's hair to flow into his view. The hair was purple. This was definitely the Jedi he's been looking for.

Quietly, he took his blaster from his belt and aimed for the Jedi, thinking this was going to be an easy kill. Unknown to him, she knew he was behind her. She gripped onto her lightsaber tighter, preparing for what was about to happen.

Jay pulled the trigger and blasted at the Jedi. In one swift motion, she ignited her lightsaber and blocked the laser, redirecting it into some nearby trees. Jay jumped at the sudden movement. His eyes widened as he came face to face with the purple-haired Jedi.

Her purple hair was shielded under the hood of her cloak, a visible braid running along one side. Her glowing green eyes were narrowed as she stared at him. The brown cloak covered most of her. Clearly visible were her black knee-length boots, her dark purple-patched leggings, and the mucky purple fabric strapped around her arms. Her tunic was a mucky dark brown, with bits of green and purple. It was like a Jedi's. Her lightsaber was purple, glowing and shedding light onto herself.

Jay didn't expect her to be to be this pretty. He's hooked up with many women before, but couldn't think of one that looked more breathtaking than her. She aimed her lightsaber at Jay, a threatening look in her eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice a mix of fear and threat.

"Doesn't matter. You won't live long enough to remember me, anyway," Jay replied, preparing to blast at her again.

He shot another laser at her, but she quickly dodged it with a swing of her lightsaber. Again and again, he tried shooting at her, but every laser was deflected. The purple-haired Jedi leaped at him, but he moved out of the way. For a while, they chased after each other in the small area, dodging hits and taking punches. They soon ended up in another place more open. Jay swept his leg under her feet, sweeping her to the floor. He then jumped at her with a large branch, but she used the force to push him away. He crashed into a rock wall and slid to the floor. He sat there, panting as the Jedi stepped closer.

Surprising her, he kicked her away. She stumbled to the ground, giving Jay time to reach for his blaster that was laying on the ground. As soon as he picked it up, the Jedi slammed him to another rock wall with the force. Before he could fight back, she pulled her lightsaber to his neck.

"Let me ask you again. Who are you?" she asked, threateningly.

Jay glanced at the lightsaber inches away from his neck. "Just a simple bounty hunter about to get a huge amount of credits," he answered.

The Jedi suddenly felt some pressure on her side. She glanced down and saw Jay's blaster pressing onto her body. She looked up at him to see him glaring at her.

"Back. Down," Jay ordered.

She gave him the same glare. After a moment of silence, she pulled back, stepping back a few feet. They gave each other a look. At first, it seemed like all was okay, until Jay tried to shoot at her again, but she deflected it, the laser hitting his leg instead. Jay cried out in pain. He stumbled to the floor, dropping his blaster. The Jedi quickly grabbed it, and aimed it at him, her unignited lightsaber in another hand.

"Surrender," she said. "Go back to your ship and fly away from here as far as you can."

Jay wriggled around, trying to get up, but his leg had been hit. His eyes focused on the gun in her hand. He grunted as the pain increased as he moved.

"Alright, fine. I surrender," Jay said.

The Jedi loosened. She dropped her stance and tucked her lightsaber into her cloak, but held onto the gun.

"I'll be keeping this," she said, swirling around the blaster. Luckily for Jay, she began pacing around, her back turned. "Just in case you get any ideas-"

Jay tackled her to the ground. They began to fight again, Jay trying to both kill her and pry his blaster from her hands. All of a sudden, they fell into a giant hole. Jay landed on his leg, causing even more pain to it. The Jedi regained herself and saw Jay still laying down and his blaster a few feet away. She quickly rushed to grab it and aimed it at him. But she pulled the gun down when she saw he was too injured to get up.

Sighing, she looked around. She's been on this planet since she was twelve, but she's never fallen into a hole like this before. The skylight above them was where they fell through, illuminating one spot in the deep hole. While she began to search for a way out, Jay was bandaging up his wound. Or, at least, trying to.

"It's going to get dark soon," the Jedi said, glancing up at the skylight before sitting down several feet away from Jay. "You okay?"

"Other than my leg," Jay replied, tying up the wound with a fabric from his pocket. "Just peachy."

"Let me guess, the First Order sent you to kill me," she said.

"How'd you know?" Jay asked.

"They've been trying to track me down for months. Even sent a few other bounty hunters like you to come and kill me," she answered.

"How were you able to slip from their grasp?" Jay asked.

"I keep off the grid as much as I can. I used to just wander around planets, looking for shelter. The people always ratted me out so I did some circling to keep everyone confused before I landed here," the Jedi answered.

"My name's Jay, in case you were wondering," he told her, one corner of his lips tugging up.

"I wasn't. I was this close to calling you Han Solo," the Jedi stated.

"Man, I wish. He was a legend. I heard stories about him and how he helped saved the galaxy," Jay said.

Ever since he was a little kid, his parents would tell him stories about the things that happened long before he was born. That was what mainly drove him to become a Bounty Hunter. That, and the money he could earn.

The Jedi snorted, a small smile creeping up on her face. Jay didn't notice.

"So, I told you my name. What's yours?" Jay asked.

"It's top secret. Only the worthy should know," the Jedi said.

"Aren't I worthy?" Jay asked.

"You tried to kill me," she stated.

"Fair point," Jay agreed.

The Jedi stared up at the skylight, trying to figure out a way out. Jay stared at her, examining her features. And wondering about her backstory. He's never seen a real life Jedi before. Only heard them in stories. Her lightsaber was an interesting weapon. When he gets the chance to kill her, he'd probably sell that and get even more credits. But right now, they can't fight. They're stuck in a hole without food or water.

"Since we might be here a while, how about we truce till we get out of this hole?" he asked.

The Jedi looked back down at him, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"How do I know you won't just shoot me when my back is turned?" she asked.

"Look, if all we'll be doing is fight, we won't find a way out. So, unless you want to stay here for the rest of your life...," Jay trailed off holding out his hand for her to shake.

She stared at his hand for a moment, then at him. There was no way of telling whether or not he was going to stand by the truce. But he was right. If all they do is fight, there's no way they'll be able to find a way out of this giant hole. It'd be better if they worked together.

Just when Jay thought she wasn't going to shake, she firmly grasped his hand and shook it, bringing a small smile to Jay's face. But that didn't mean that she trusted him. But the rest is yet to come.


	3. Chapter 3: Hiss

**Sorry this one's short, but that's all I got for this chapter.**

"So, Mauve-top, if you're a Jedi...then what happened to all the others? I thought there were more of you," Jay asked.

The Jedi Jay dubbed as Mauve-top (which was only the first of his many nicknames for her) gave him a questioning look. Her stare gave Jay an uneasy feeling in his stomach. Almost as if he said something wrong. She didn't answer. Only continued to fiddle with the ends of her cloak.

"What? You still don't trust me?" Jay asked.

"Of course not. You're here to kill me, remember?" the purple-haired Jedi asked.

"Hey, we called a truce, alright? So you have no reason to be afraid. Besides, you shot my leg so I can't go anywhere even if I tried," Jay stated.

"I didn't shoot your leg. You pulled the trigger and I simply redirected it to your leg," she said.

Jay watched as she stood up and began to pace around the small area while gazing up at the skylight. Her purple hair was very intriguing. Purple wasn't a normal hair color for humans. Assuming she is fully human. The Jedi now stood in front of one of the dirt walls. A small path of rocks were dug into the dirt, giving her an idea. She grabbed onto one of them then another, pulling herself up. Now she was climbing her way up to the skylight.

"Um, hey. Hey. What are you doing?" Jay asked, feeling concerned.

"Climbing my way out," Mal answered.

"What about me?" Jay asked. "Maybe you forgot, but my leg is still-WHOA!"

Jay was cut off when he felt himself being lifted off the ground. The Jedi had her hand extended out as she slowly lifted Jay up into the air.

"What are you doing? Put me down!" Jay shouted.

The Jedi stopped for a second to climb up a little more. In the process, her focus on keeping Jay afloat stopped and he began to fall to the floor, screaming. But just before he came into contact with the ground, Mauve-top used the force again to continue lifting him up. And so that repeated. Again and again. Jay, still frightened, kept protesting.

"This is a stupid idea," Jay said, currently hanging upside down, His good leg being the one the Jedi focused the force to.

"Well, I don't hear you coming up with any ideas," she retorted, occasionally grunting from all the heavy-lifting.

They were almost at the top when they heard a low hiss. Both their eyes widened and looked around. There was no sign of where that noise could've come from. Before Mauve-top could continue the climb out, The wall she was holding onto shook and it caused her to lose her grip. Now both she and Jay fell back onto the ground. Groaning, they both sat back up.

"Did you hear that noise?" Jay asked.

"Yeah," the Jedi answered.

"What was it?" Jay asked.

"I don't know," she said. "Must've just been your brain deflating."

She stood up and lightly shoved his head away as she said that. She paced around again, her hands on her hips.

"There's gotta be another way out," she said.

Her attempt had almost gotten them out, if she didn't lose her balance. That hiss they heard definitely wasn't Jay's brain. There's something else here. Hopefully, it won't cause any problems.


	4. Chapter 4: I give you my word

**I'M BACK!**

 **Sorry guys, but I haven't been feeling like writing in the last month. I don't know, but it was hard to force myself to write a new chapter. But don't worry. I am planning on FINISHING it to the end of the story. I'm not gonna leave you guys hanging. At first, I was planning on writing again when Descendants 2 comes out, but I just saw this thing related to that that made my shipping heart explode. So...here you go!**

The night passed peacefully as the two fell asleep in the large hole. Soon, the sun began to creep up softly onto the Jedi, waking her up. Her eyes slowly opened, the blurry picture of her surroundings becoming clearer. She was laying on the ground. In a large cave. She had forgotten for a second why she was there until her eyes glanced over at a sleeping Jay several feet away from her.

She looked up at the skylight and without a second thought, she attempted to climb up the wall of the cave again. Whether or not she would use the force to lift Jay up after she reached the surface was something she was considering.

Just before she reached the top, her foot slipped and she came crashing back down onto the ground. The loud noise woke Jay up with a startle. He shot up with his eyes widened. Groaning from the sudden awakening, he pinched the bridge of his nose as Mal picked herself off the ground.

"Morning, sleeping beauty. Sleep well?" the Jedi asked.

"Aside from the weird pain on my back," Jay paused to stand up. "Just peachy."

The current setting was sort of funny to him. Usually, when he wakes up with a girl with him, it's not because he tried to kill her and they fell into a hole.

"You still trying to climb your way up?" he asked.

"I don't see you coming up with any ideas," she replied.

Jay scoffed and turned to pace around. When he turned around, Mauve-top saw a rather large spider on his back. Her eyes widened at the sight. Quickly, she used the force to pry the creature off Jay's back and ignited her lightsaber, slicing it dead. The bounty hunter jumped at her actions.

"Spider," informed the Jedi, watching the smoke rise off the large bug.

As if they were in a cartoon, a lightbulb lit up above Jay's head. The force-using Jedi was his ticket out of here.

"I've got an idea. You can use your magic...thingy to lift me to the surface. Then I can drop down a vine and you can climb out of here," he told her.

"Nice try, hotshot, but I'm not falling for your _tricks_ that easily," she replied, her hands on her hips.

"You really think I'm gonna just leave you here?" Jay asked.

"I'd expect another attempt to kill me, but yeah. Pretty much," she answered.

 _"Nightshade, I give you my word that I won't kill you and run off," he promised._

The Jedi didn't trust him one bit. What has he done to prove he was worthy of her trust? Sure, she would admit, he's easy on the eyes. But that doesn't mean she'd entrust him with his life.

But...then again, this was the only option right now. There didn't seem to be a whole lot of other ways to escape. None that she could think of, anyway. Besides, if does end up trying to kill her, she can always force him right back down.

Jay was still waiting for a response. The Jedi finally agreed with his plan. He knew she still didn't trust him, but he wasn't planning on breaking his promise.

So with that, Mauve-top raised her hand and concentrated, lifting Jay off the ground. The whole force thing felt weird to him. It was like he didn't have full control of his body. His thoughts about that came to a stop when he reached the surface. The sun wasn't too bright, since the bushy, tall trees blocked most of it. Still, it felt great.

"Okay. I'm gonna go find a vine. I'll be right back," Jay said, before rushing off.

In no more than five seconds, the Jedi began to regret going along with this plan.

 _'Of course he's going to just run off! It's not like he actually cares about helping me out. What was I think-'_ her thoughts were interrupted when a green vine dropped down beside her.

She looked up to see Jay's face through the skylight, smirking. He could see the look of worry that was written on her face.

"And you thought I was actually going to leave you here," he said. "Well, you should know, I never break a promise."

The Jedi just scoffed, rolling her eyes. She then grabbed a hold of the vine and Jay pulled her up. At first, it was working. But then they heard that low hiss again. And this time, it was REALLY loud.

"Uh, Jay?" the Jedi called. The bounty hunter paused.

For the first few seconds, it was silent. Deadly silent. Until...CRASH! A giant serpent broke through the wall and slithered around the cave.

"Pull me up! Pull me up!" shouted the Jedi, feeling her heart pounding from the scare.

Jay used all his strength to pull her up as fast as he could. Mauve-top ignited her lightsaber and tried to swat the beast away. The serpent lunged forward at her, jaws open wide. She was able to swing away in time, but in the process, the vine snapped.

The Jedi stumbled to the ground. She stood back up through the pain and continued to fight off the serpent. Meanwhile, Jay was panicking. He felt helpless. He couldn't help her. Why would he want to? No idea. She was supposed to end up dead anyway. But he felt like he had to do something. Though he would never normally do this.

Eyes going crazy searching for a weapon, he spotted his blaster still on the ground next to Mauve-top's feet.

"Mauve-top! Throw me my blaster!" Jay shouted.

"What?! Are you crazy? I'm not giving you that thing!" she yelled back, bouncing around, swinging her lightsaber at the serpent.

"It's the only way I can help kill the monster!" he replied.

The Jedi grunted from a harsh landing into the wall. "How do I know you're not just going to kill me instead?!" she shouted back.

"You just gotta trust me!" was his only response.

Seeing that this fight with the serpent wasn't one she was winning, she reluctantly reached for the blaster and threw it up to Jay. He caught it and quickly aimed for...well, he didn't know what to aim for. He remembered he had a mission. Kill the Jedi, get the money. So he aimed his blaster at her. He was about to pull the trigger, but something felt wrong. He couldn't explain it, but instead, he aimed and shot at the serpent.

The lasers kept flying towards the beast, distracting it enough for the Jedi to hop onto its head and strike her lightsaber into it. She then leaped up in time before the serpent fell dead. Her hands were able to grip the side of the skylight, but she felt herself slipping. Before she could fall, Jay helped her up.

She finally was on the surface, laying on the leaf-covered ground trying to catch her breath.

Jay was sitting beside her, subconsciously staring at her purple hair flawlessly spread out on the ground. What can he say? It looked pretty.

The Jedi looked at him. "You saved my life," she stated.

"Of course I did. Aren't we friends now?" Jay asked, jokingly.

She sat up, amazed by what had just happened. She hasn't experienced anything exciting and dangerous years. It was exhilarating. But exhausting. All of a sudden, Jay's stomach started to grumble. She couldn't help but chuckle.

"Hungry?" she asked.

Jay chuckled awkwardly. "Fighting a serpent works up an appetite," he answered.

"Well, I've got some food in my hut. 'Bout time we get some breakfast," said the Jedi.

She stood up and began to walk to her place, leaving Jay confused. Inviting him to her house? Had she forgotten about the truce? They were out of the hole now. He could freely kill her. What happened to her not trusting him?

 _'I probably gained her trust helping her defeat that beast,'_ he thought to himself. He still planned on killing her somehow. But not now. He needs to strike when she's defenseless. That lightsaber is still in her hand.

So he got up and followed her. But she stopped in her tracks for a brief moment. Jay worried she had remembered the plan about the truce.

"My name's Mal," she spoke softly, hardly looking back at him. "In case you were wondering." The corner of her lips were tugged up a little.

Jay smiled, now knowing her name. And how beautiful, it was.

 **I missed this.**


	5. Chapter 5: Tiny Tesrik

**I just realized how short this story is probably going to be. Oh well. It's still (hopefully) going to be good anyway.**

 **P.S. I am not very knowledgeable when it comes to Star Wars planets or creatures so...most of those things are going to be made up.**

 **P.P.S. A Tesrik (something I totally made up) looks like a Tarsier.**

After a while of walking, they finally arrived at Mal's little cave. The long, thick vines and branches help hide it so it blends in. The whole walk there, Jay kept thinking about why Mal didn't just abandon him or try to attack. Did she really forget? Either way, he was still planning on finishing the job.

As they stepped inside, they were greeted with the sight inside Mal's cave. It was small, but there was a doorway leading deeper into the cave. It was almost like a regular house. Only rocky. The place looked like it was all carved out. A couple shelves held a bunch of unlit candles. There was a large blanket draped on the wall, a small pile of junk that made up as a table, and a few other knick-knacks were scattered throughout the room.

Mal took off her cloak, letting it slide off her shoulders and hung it on a carved out hook on the wall. She then walked towards a storage compartment that held packages of instant bread in plastic packages. She placed it under a stalactite that had water dripping from it.

As she waited for the bread to soon expand, she could feel Jay's eyes on her. He watched her every move. Not attempting to kill her, but instead observing her. She was a mystery to him. Jedi, purple hair, lives alone on a forgotten planet. When the bread was done, Mal broke it in half and gave one half to Jay.

"I only have so much and I don't like going to the markets," she explained.

"Thanks," Jay said, before taking a bite.

For a moment, it was silent. Besides the sounds of the two chewing. When they were finished, Jay spoke.

"Nice place you got here," he commented.

"Thanks. Carved out the whole rock myself. The only thing that kept me busy for four years," Mal replied.

"The only thing? Anything else you do around here?" Jay asked.

"Meditate. It keeps me calm," she answered.

"Anything else?" Jay asked, hoping to hear a more fun answer.

"Why? Bored?" Mal asked, her lips tugging up into a smirk.

"Yeah. Show me something fun to do around here," Jay said, mirroring her facial expression.

"Don't you want to rest your leg?" she asked.

"I'm sure I can handle it, Malastare," Jay said, adding another nickname to the list.

Mal scoffed at the new nickname. "Okay, Hotshot. Let's go for a walk," she stated.

* * *

The more they walked, the deeper they got into the forest. Jay was having a hard time with his leg, but was still able to get by. Just then, a small furry creature with large eyes came crawling from a tree to meet them at eye level. At first, Jay was startled. Thinking it was going to attack, he pulled out his blaster. But before he could shoot, he saw that Mal was petting it.

His brows furrowed in confusion. Putting away his blaster, he asked what that thing was.

"It's a Tesrik. They live here. Over the years, I've come to befriend most of the creatures here. The force allows me to connect with them," Mal explained.

"Wow. You're a real Disney princess," Jay teased.

Mal gave him a quick glare, before turning back to the Tesrik. She softly spoke to the creature, and even gave him a little nut of some kind to eat.

This confused him a lot. His first impression of Mal was that she was very tough. And threatening. But apparently, she had this soft side. Caring for a little creature that could fit into the palm of your hand.

"So what's his name?" Jay asked.

"Hmm?" Mal hummed in confusion.

"You seem to be close to the little guy so I'm guessing you named him," Jay stated.

"I call him Buddy. I met him six months ago when he was just a baby. I think sometimes he prefers me over his real family," Mal said, smiling at the little Tesrik.

"Never took you for the animal lover," Jay said.

"Well, when you spend four years on a planet alone, you start to get used to them," Mauve-top replied.

Buddy began to climb his way up to Mal's shoulder, his bushy tail brushing against her face. For a moment, she let her guard down. She grinned brightly at the Tesrik, taking Jay by surprise once more. She looked...adorable. A smile appeared on his face as he thought that. For a moment, he forgot about his mission. This Jedi he was supposed to kill...maybe he could-

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

Jay snapped out of his daze and realized he's been staring at Mal this whole time. He saw that she was frowning, feeling uncomfortable. The walls were up again.

"Uh, sorry. Just...lost in thought," Jay answered, trying to play it off cool.

"Okay...," Mal said, feeling a little heat in her cheeks. She moved Buddy off her shoulder and pet him goodbye. "Let's move on."

 **Well that was a short one. I was going to move the plot along quicker, but I think I gotta let the chemistry grow. Slowly.**

 **And to answer Starflight34's question, the thing I saw was a photo of Cameron Boyce and Sofia Carson popping out from behind cardboard cutouts of Carlos and Evie...completely unrelated to Jal, but the cardboard cutouts of Carlos and Evie were next to each other and that somehow triggered my shipping heart to write that last chapter. I don't know. It's weird, but let's not focus on that. The good news is that I'm writing again. So...there's your answer.**


	6. Chapter 6: Friends

**I JUST SAW THE MUSIC VIDEO FOR "YOU AND ME" FROM DESCENDANTS 2 AND THERE ARE CARVIE AND JAL MOMENTS! Or A moment to be precise. And THAT made me want to write again after another month or so of procrastinating.**

 **Sadly, my TV doesn't have Disney Channel or any other channel that's playing Descendants 2 so I can't watch it. SO NO SPOILING ANYTHING!**

As they continued walking through the forest, Mal was now the one wondering about the bounty hunter. All she knew so far was that he was sent to kill her. He couldn't be trusted. But after he saved her (kinda), Mal was beginning to wonder if she misjudged him. So she put him to the test. She pretended to forget about the truce they had and what they agreed on to see if he would go for the kill. So far, he hasn't. But Mal was still cautious, not letting her guard down. She kept her eye on him as they walked, the silence between them unbearable.

"So, Jay," Mal began, turning his attention to her. "You must be a pretty big deal back home with your fancy armor and blaster, right?"

Jay chuckled. "Well, not to brag, but I'm considered one of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy," he replied.

He then leaped on top of a large rock and did a heroic pose.

"Hunt down wanted criminals, cash in some sweet money, and of course the ladies," he winked and hopped off the rock.

Mal scoffed but couldn't help the upward tug at the corner of her mouth. But then that smile faded and turned into a frown.

"Why do you do it?" she asked.

Frowning in confusion, Jay asked, "What?"

"Why are you a bounty hunter?" Mal asked again.

At first, Jay didn't reply. Mal thought he wasn't going to answer until he finally spoke.

"My dad was a merchant. He made me steal things from people so they'd have to but it back. We made a living out of that for years. But one day, he was arrested when someone found out about this. I didn't have enough money at the time to bail him out. I found out about bounty hunters and what they do. So I became one of them. People didn't take me seriously since I was just a kid, but somehow I climbed to the top and now I'm famous. I've been trying to get the money to bail my dad out of jail, but every time I get close to that amount of money, I gamble it away," Jay said, earning a sympathetic look from the purple-haired girl.

At this point, they stopped walking. Mal was beginning to feel sorry for him, almost forgetting the reason why he was with her.

"And your dad's still there?" she asked.

"Yeah. Rotting away with all the other scumbags," Jay answered.

Mal frowned. "You call your dad a 'scumbag?'" she asked, wondering why he insulted his own father.

"He wasn't a good man. He cheated and lied and did terrible things," he replied. "But he's my father. I gotta get him out of there. If I hadn't gambled all my money away he would be out already."

This was weird. Mal felt weird. She definitely misjudged him. But she couldn't help but wonder how much the First Order was willing to give him for her death. If he's _that_ desperate for the money, he would've killed her the second they stepped out of that hole. But he hasn't. Not even a glance at his blaster. Maybe she could trust him. But he probably wouldn't even be here if he hadn't had a gambling addiction.

"Maybe I can help you," Mal offered.

Confusion cast itself over Jay's face. _Help me? Why would she offer to help_ _me? Not that I wouldn't mind, but she's being awfully nice._

Jay figured the reason why she acted this way was because she really did forget. Repeatedly falling from the height of that pit must've made her forget everything that happened before.

"Help me?" Jay asked.

"Yeah. I mean, we're...friends now," Mal said. "Right?"

Jay couldn't help but hint a smile. "Right."

Looking up, Mal saw the sky was tinted with yellow and orange, letting her know the sun was going down.

"Come on. Let's head back before nightfall," she said, as they began to walk back to Mal's home.

 **Yeah...I think that was rushed.**


End file.
